Rapid City Journal from Rapid City, South Dakota • 20

Section Thursday, September 2, 2010 www rapidcityiournal.com Inside I ComicsAdvice. C3-4 I Home Garden. C5-6 FAVORITE PLACES Friendship monument to Roosevelt is little-known The Beech C-45 Expeditor, right, was used by the Army Air Corps for light transport, staff and liaison missions It had a maximum range of 1.200 miles and a maximum speed of 225 miles per hour I I I Photos by Ryan SoderlmJournal staff Liz Runquist takes photographs of a Boeing 520 Stratofortress at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum The road to Mount Roosevelt is not paved, but if it were, it wouldn't necessarily be with good intentions. Still, there is a schism in the symbolism of what the dusty trail meant to me as a young man and what it means to me today. As junior high students in Dead-wood, my friend Joey Saari and 1 made the trek up Denver Street to Mount Roosevelt Road, hoofing it up the steep, winding road more than 2 miles to Friendship Tower.

The tower was blocked off to prevent delinquents from gaining entrance, but we managed to scoot past the gate, climb the crumbling staircase and take in the outstanding view. Later, in our high school years, we didnt much bother with the tower. Traveling by night instead of day and in our cars instead of by foot, the semi -remote post served as a Lovers Lane of sorts. I say semi-remote only because the first time I decided to make a nighttime visit with a female acquaintance, it was interrupted by a member of the Lawrence County Sheriffs Department about five minutes after putting the vehicle in park. Unfortunately, the deputy made sure to inform my mother of our brief encounter the next day at work.

The first time proved to be the last time I made a nighttime visit. My trips up the hill have less -ened over the years after I moved away from the gulch more than a decade ago, but it remains one of my favorite quick getaways in the Hills. I dont take the hard way up the hill anymore, choosing instead to drive to the picnic grounds maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. From there, its only about a V2 mile walk along a relatively easy trail up to Friendship Tower.

The stone structure was built by retired lawman Seth Bullock more than 90 years ago, the first monument to then -recently deceased President Teddy Roosevelt. Bullock's monument to his old friend is seen by many as the link from the Old West (Bullock, the onetime Deadwood sheriff) to the New West as presented by Roosevelts dream of the National Park System and preservation. Although access to the inside of the tower is forbidden, preservationists recently got about $200,000 in federal funds to keep the tower from further disrepair. It is one of the least advertised historic monuments in the Hills, and one of its attractions to me is that Ive never run into unexpected company there no crowd, no fees, only the serenity of the surrounding forest, a remarkable token of friendship from the past and a great view of the Hills. History of flight Museum showcases military crafts By Shell Jeffery-Tomjack Journal correspondent It has been several decades since Chris Jewitt of Claremont, has been close to an F-111 Aardvark.

While standing in the shadow of the aircraft at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, he reminisced about another time and the men with whom he had the pleasure of serving. Its been a quite a while since I laid my eyes on one of these, he said while looking over the aircraft. While his eyes roamed the sleek exterior of the bomber, he chuckled as he recounted an incident where a co-worker accidentally flipped some switches on a parked aircraft, resulting in dummy bombs being dropped to the ground. Man, did he get a stern talking to. Listening to history come alive is one of the perks for the employees at the aviation museum.

The neatest things are the stories people tell us. The sacrifices they made and the things they did to make the aircraft fly," said Tech Sgt. Duane Cole, museum curator. The Air and Space Museum in Box Elder is home to about 30 aircraft and missiles that were used by the military in some way during the past 60 years. Veterans, aviation enthusiasts and children enjoy the opportunity to walk among the aircraft while learning about the role the machines and their crews played in the protection of the country, said museum director Carl Engwall.

Jordan Nicolas, 9, left, and his grandfather. Jim Harris, look at a display about the 28th Communications Squadron during a visit to the South Dakota Air and Space Museum If you go What: South Dakota Air and Space Museum Where: Box Elder, Exit 64 at Interstate 90, next to the main gate at Ellsworth Air Force Base When: Summer hours are from 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; winter hours are from 8.30 a to 4.30 closed in January and February Admission: Free, bus tours are $7 per adult and $4 per child The free museum has been open at its location, adjacent to the main gate at Ellsworth Air Force Base, since the mid-1980s. The facility features the airpark, where the aircraft are on display, and four galleries. It is a commemoration of the role that service men and women have played in the history of aviation, as well as local and regional aviation history, Engwall said.

According to Engwall, one of the most popular attractions is the B-iB Lancer on display at the entrance of the airpark. See PLANES, PageC2 Getting there Go north of Deadwood on U.S. Highway 8s and turn west on Forest Service Road 133. Travel about 2 miles before taking the north turn toward Mount Roosevelt. From the parking lot, take a gravel walking path to the friendship Tower area, which overlooks Bear Butte, Terry Peak and the ranchlands north toward Roosevelts historic ranch in North Dakota.

"It's the love of aviation (that attracts the visitors). Theres something about flying that appeals to the young and old. It brings out the kid in all of us." Carl Engwall South Dakota Air and Space Museum director Todd Williams is the Journal online editor. Contact lam at 394-8413 or todd.wHiamsQrapiddtyioumal.com BLACK HILLS TRIVIA DESTINATIONS DON'T MISS THIS Newell Centennial Celebration What is the erosion rate of Mount Rushmore National Memorial? A. 1 inch every year 1 inch every 10 years C.

1 inch every 100 years 1 inch every 10.000 years The answer is on Page C2. and dance Sunday; and a 10 a.m. parade and dance Monday. For a complete schedule, go to www.newellcentennial.org. For more community events, go to PageE6 It's the Newell Centennial Celebration this weekend.

Events include a dance Friday; a 5K fun runwalk, ranch rodeo, chuckwagon feed and dance Saturday; an antique car show, tractor pull llWTvTOiJwpidciti'ioijrnaLconi Features editor Deanna Darr E-mail: deanna.darrrapidcityiournal.com or 1-800-843-2300 ext. 8416 4 ft'jftu'" ft A.